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Achilles in the Alleyway: Bob Dylan and Classical Poetry and Myth

2009; Boston University; Volume: 17; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/arn.2009.0027

2327-6436

Thomas E. Strunk,

Poetry Analysis and Criticism

Achilles in theAlleyway: Bob Dylan and Classical Poetry andMyth THOMAS E. STRUNK Achilles is inyour alleyway He don't want me here, he does brag He's pointing to the sky And he's hungry, like a man in drag How come you get someone like him to be your guard? ?"Temporary Like Achilles," Blonde on Blonde w ITH dismay I read a Chicago Tribune col? umn in the autumn of 2006 that defended Bob Dylan from accusations of plagiarism on his latest album, Modern Times.? My dismay did not arise because I thought Dylan was guilty of committing plagiarism, but rather because the column ana? lyzed theWestern artistic process merely in terms of plagia? rism versus originality. The charge of plagiarism had come to the fore in theNew York Times with articles arguing either side of the debate over whether Bob Dylan stole thewords of Civil War poet Henry Timrod.2 Clearly Dylan has read Tim rod and has incorporated the poet's work into his lyrics,but I shudder to thinkwhat would be the conclusions of these com? mentators if they read both Vergil's Aeneid and Homer's Odyssey. Plagiarism simply is not the issue, as ifartists such as Dylan and Vergil are limited by the same constraints as an undergraduate writing a term paper. 3 My intent is not to ac? cuse Dylan of plagiarism, for thatwould be as foolish as at? tempting to defend an artist like him from charges of stealing another's work. What Iwant to discuss and what the com? mentators on Dylan's latest album fail to perceive are the time-honored traditions of literary allusion, artistic citation, and poetic translation, techniques with which classicists are all joyfully familiar. Indeed, they are at the foundation of the classical literary tradition. For what would Vergil be without ARION 17.1 SPRING/SUMMER2009 I20 ACHILLES IN THE ALLEYWAY Homer, Horace without Alcaeus, and Catullus without Sap? pho? And here Iwould like to add: what would Bob Dylan be without Catullus, Horace, Vergil, and Euripides? The originality of Dylan's music ismatched only by his eclectic use of theWestern literary and musical tradition. The inspiration of the Old and New Testaments can be felt in almost everyDylan song from "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" to "Slow Train Coming." The genealogy of Dylan's mu? sic has been traced by scholars like Christopher Ricks and Michael Gray, who look to poets such as Rimbaud, Gins? berg, Keats, and indeed Henry Timrod as influences along with authors like Kerouac and Dickens.4 Songwriters like Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, and countless other blues and folk musicians are recognized as direct models. The early and profound influence of folkmusic on Dylan's artis? tic development cannot be underestimated here, as the folk process encourages liberal borrowing and adaptation of ear? lierworks. The folk process is founded on the principle of communal ownership of the artistic tradition, and it can be seen at work inDylan's adaptation of Timrod's lyrics. One influence, however, has eluded the ken of most com? mentators and critics alike: the classics.5 Dylan's participa? tion in his high school's social studies club for four years seems hardly surprising, as his music isundeniably politically and socially focused. But we also know that he studied Latin inhigh school and was involved in themost un-hip activities of his high school's Latin club. Moreover, Dylan cites a num? ber of ancient authors in his recentmemoir Chronicles: Vol? ume One, including Tacitus, Suetonius, Ovid, Thucydides, and Sophocles.6 Iwould like to add a fewmore classical au? thors to this list, particularly Catullus, Horace, Vergil, and Euripides, and to trace their influence on Dylan's music. VALE, PUELLA ?GOODBYE'S TOO GOOD A WORD Saying goodbye to a lover is a sub-genre of love poetry for which Dylan has displayed remarkable talent. Recall such Thomas E. Strunk 121 lyrics as "It Ain't Me Babe," "Farewell Angelina," and "To Ramona." These goodbyes range from the sympathetic ("To Ramona") to the acerbic ("It Ain't Me Babe"). Among Dy? lan'smost plaintive goodbyes is his early song "Don't Think Twice, It'sAll Right," from the...